By 2015, Toyota's dominance in the hybrid market
will most likely face a serious challenge from Honda(japan),
BYD(china) and Hyundai (south korea). Below is a summary
on one of these potential challengers to the Toyota Prius.

Summary of a Review of the BYD F3DM gas electric plug in hybrid
====================================================
Chinese Automaker BYD submit paper work to sell its F3DM, a four door
sedan plug-in gas-electric hybrid, in the USA. The BYD F3DM -- which
is expected to sell for less than $9,000 (MRSP) -- can run on
electric mode for atleast 31 miles with a 16KwH battery and should
have gasoline range of 300 miles. BYD plans to initially sell the
F3DM to corporate fleets before selling to individual buyers. When the
BDY F3DM is sold in the USA the charging system will be upgraded
with the SAE-standard J1772 connector found on all new plug in cars.
BYD expects to open up five dealerships in 2012. It plans to sell
the F3DM along side its all electric car the e6 as well as the
electric charging systems and solar panel systems.

source
===========

Behind the Wheel: BYD F3DM
BYD Is the First Ripple in a Potential Chinese Wave
Bradley Berman. The New York Times. Friday, February 18 2011
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/20/automobiles/autoreviews/byd-f3-dm-review.html?_r=1&pagewanted=2

Posted by bwilson4web on February 24, 2011, 6:35 am

> By 2015, Toyota's dominance in the hybrid market> will most likely face a serious challenge from Honda(japan),> BYD(china) and Hyundai (south korea). . . .

The Prius came to the USA in 2000 and reports of its demise soon
followed. So Toyota is expanding the Prius family with a small and
larger versions by 2012. A whole grove of trees have died to carry the
claims of Prius skeptics. So I say to those who plan to compete,"Bring
it on . . ."

We are past time that a press release, warmed over article, or snarkie
comment has any impact.

> The Prius came to the USA in 2000 and reports of its demise soon> followed. So Toyota is expanding the Prius family with a small and> larger versions by 2012. A whole grove of trees have died to carry the> claims of Prius skeptics. So I say to those who plan to> compete,"Bring> it on . . ."

In addition to that, the closest challenger among those mentioned would be
Honda (based on their research and past experience with hybrids) and yet
their second gen Insight has been a bitter disappointment. Although stiled
after Prius, it's nowhere near it in fuel economy (from talking to
drivers, people reported real life MPG in only 35 range - you don't need a
hybrid car for 35MPG) and not surprisingly the sales figures are nowhere
near that of Prius either.

Apparently, it takes a lot (of money, research, time, insert any resource
you can think of here) to make a successful hybrid vehicle. Hard to beat
Toyota at any of that. I would not be surprised if the first real
challenger would not even be a hybrid but a pure electric vehicle instead.
And we'll most certainly have to wait a few years for that.

> DA wrote:> bwilson4web wrote:>> The Prius came to the USA in 2000 and reports of its demise soon>> followed. So Toyota is expanding the Prius family with a small and>> larger versions by 2012. A whole grove of trees have died to carry the>> claims of Prius skeptics. So I say to those who plan to>> compete,"Bring>> it on . . ."> In addition to that, the closest challenger among those mentioned would be> Honda (based on their research and past experience with hybrids) and yet> their second gen Insight has been a bitter disappointment. Although stiled> after Prius, it's nowhere near it in fuel economy (from talking to> drivers, people reported real life MPG in only 35 range - you don't need a> hybrid car for 35MPG) and not surprisingly the sales figures are nowhere> near that of Prius either.> Apparently, it takes a lot (of money, research, time, insert any resource> you can think of here) to make a successful hybrid vehicle. Hard to beat> Toyota at any of that. I would not be surprised if the first real> challenger would not even be a hybrid but a pure electric vehicle instead.> And we'll most certainly have to wait a few years for that.

Meanwhile, enjoy driving your state of the art, green and lean Prius like we
all do.:)

Posted by Bruce Richmond on March 3, 2011, 5:08 am

On Feb 25, 2:20pm, dirs_at_1-script_dot_...@foo.com (DA) wrote:

> responding tohttp://fuelzilla.com/prius/2012-BYD-F3DM-review-gas-electric-plug-in-...> DA wrote:> bwilson4web wrote:> > The Prius came to the USA in 2000 and reports of its demise soon> > followed. So Toyota is expanding the Prius family with a small and> > larger versions by 2012. A whole grove of trees have died to carry the> > claims of Prius skeptics. So I say to those who plan to> > compete,"Bring> > it on . . ."> In addition to that, the closest challenger among those mentioned would be> Honda (based on their research and past experience with hybrids) and yet> their second gen Insight has been a bitter disappointment. Although stiled> after Prius, it's nowhere near it in fuel economy (from talking to> drivers, people reported real life MPG in only 35 range - you don't need a> hybrid car for 35MPG) and not surprisingly the sales figures are nowhere> near that of Prius either.> Apparently, it takes a lot (of money, research, time, insert any resource> you can think of here) to make a successful hybrid vehicle. Hard to beat> Toyota at any of that. I would not be surprised if the first real> challenger would not even be a hybrid but a pure electric vehicle instead.> And we'll most certainly have to wait a few years for that.> -------------------------------------

The Chevy Volt is over priced and doesn't get very good mpg after the
battery is depleated. The Leaf isn't cheap and lacks range,
particularly when the heater is used during cold weather. None of the
other hybrids get much better mpg than their non-hybrid counterparts.

Whether the plug-in Prius is worth the added cost depends on the type
of driving done. Could have stood to have a bigger electric motor and
battery. I suspect the next challenger will be Toyota's smaller
hybrid soon to be released. The Prius has gotten bigger and more
powerful while getting about the same mpg. Some of us would have
prefered smaller, less power and more mpg. 80 mpg should be within
easy reach with well over 100 when using hypermileing. And it
shouldn't look like a clown car.